Detroit River Hawk Watch Brownstown, Michigan, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Nov 01, 2025 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 135 135 90083 Osprey 0 0 29 Bald Eagle 2 2 151 Northern Harrier 1 1 480 Sharp-shinned Hawk 7 7 3951 Cooper's Hawk 0 0 65 American Goshawk 0 0 1 Red-shouldered Hawk 5 5 174 Broad-winged Hawk 0 0 51921 Swainson's Hawk 0 0 1 Red-tailed Hawk 30 30 1072 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 3 Golden Eagle 0 0 35 American Kestrel 0 0 964 Merlin 0 0 50 Peregrine Falcon 0 0 45 Unknown Accipitrine 0 0 1 Unknown Buteo 0 0 3 Unknown Falcon 0 0 3 Unknown Eagle 0 0 0 Unknown Raptor 1 1 10 Total: 181 181 149042 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 08:00:00 Observation end time: 15:00:00 Total observation time: 7 hours Official Counter: Jo Patterson Observers: Andrew Sturgess, Bill Peregord, Don Sherwood, Johannes Postma, Michelle Peregord Visitors: We welcome visitors to our site as we are eager to share the joys of hawk watching with one and all. Although there may be times in which we are all very busy and need alone-time to concentrate, those are the times that are most enjoyable for visitors as the skies are filled with migrating raptors. Weather: A curious day today, winds did their normal elevations and falls, from directions that varied from south-southwest to eventually west, then finally turning to northwest. We were confused, and so were the birds apparently. The skies varied, but for a good deal of afternoon we had a” View of Toledo” sky off to our left. Dark and ominous, we had a lot of time to admire its mix of black and blue clouds, often pondering how such artistic formations that defy description come to be created. There was a brief period where one cloud had a black-rain tail, but most of the perceived threat dissipated later in the afternoon. The barometer was rising, yet we still seem to be in the influence zone of the low that just passed. The temperatures reached fifty-two, but being sheltered, for the most part, by the windbreak behind us, it felt curiously warm. We have been leading with our chin into the wind lately, so it was a nice break. We didn’t have a lot of birds to count, but it was a comfortable day spent with good friends. Raptor Observations: Turkey vultures seem to be winding down, but I’m not sure this was a good day to judge them, by since nothing else was really moving. We did manage to count one hundred and thirty-five birds, most in a couple of kettles, the rest in very small streams. Red-tailed hawks were kinda moving, this is their season, but we need a good wind for them to really show up. We did see thirty of them today. Many of them up in the stratosphere, late in the day. Good ole sharpies are still fluttering by, only seven of them made the clicker though. Five red-shouldered hawks flew by, three of them seemingly on a tour together. Two bald eagles, moving with the turkey vultures, received their participation awards today. One northern harrier showed up. Non-raptor Observations: The marshes are fairly low on water lately, so we are seeing more great egrets in the slip where the watch is located. Great blue herons were up this morning, with six of them being noted at the same time flying over Celeron Island. Pelicans were nowhere to be seen today. What was to be seen was the buildup of ducks out on Lake Erie. It is one of the largest gathering places for scaup in the country, and we could see a lot of ducks flying back and forth, albeit at a good distance from us. Our local pairs of bald eagles earned their frequent flyer miles today as they enjoyed the winds aloft. Forster’s terns were noted in the morning hours. Predictions: A wind that is predicted to grow from a southwest direction from three mph to eleven, does not get the pulse racing. The barometer should continue to rise. The level of cloud cover should diminish. The temperature should reflect the wind coming from the south and rise by about three degrees tomorrow. The big fly in our soup is the direction and strength of the wind, southwest winds are usually a killer wind for us. Of course, I hope for the best, but have to plan for the worst. ======================================================================== Report submitted by Andrew Sturgess (ajyes72@gmail.com) Detroit River Hawk Watch information may be found at: http://www.detroitriverhawkwatch.org More site information at hawkcount.org: https://hawkcount.org/siteinfo.php?rsite=285